LSU crushes Ohio State in BCS Championship Game

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Louisiana State slammed its critics,
racing past Ohio State in a championship mismatch while inciting
bedlam from Baton Rouge to Bourbon Street to the Bayou.

Matt Flynn threw four touchdown passes as second-ranked LSU
overcame a sluggish start to dominate the top-ranked Buckeyes,
38-24, in Monday night's BCS Championship Game at the Louisiana
Superdome.

Countless detractors debated LSU's inclusion in the contest,
pointing to the Tigers' two regular-season losses and
questioning their climb from seventh to second in the final BCS
standings.

But LSU (12-2) certainly proved it belonged, winning the third
title in school history while becoming the first BCS champion
with two losses.

"Certainly there will be some argument as to who's the best
team," Tigers coach Les Miles said. "But I think the national
champion's been crowned tonight."

Arguments almost definitely will come in support of Southern
California, Georgia and Kansas - all of whom looked impressive
in dominating BCS bowl victories last week.

But Miles, who turned down overtures from Michigan - his alma
mater - last month, felt that the Tigers were a deserving
champion courtesy of their Southeastern Conference crown.

"Certainly there's great teams in the Big 12, great teams in the
Pac-10, great teams in the Big Ten, the ACC," said Miles, who
guided LSU to its first title since 2003. "But the point is
that in (the SEC), week after week you're going to play very
talented teams.

"You're going to have to play your best. And so I think it puts
the champion of this conference in position to compete in a
very competitive game like this with advantage."

Showered by chants of "SEC! SEC!" from delirious Tigers fans,
LSU became the first school to win multiple titles since the BCS
format began in 1998.

Ohio State (11-2) was routed by an SEC team in the championship
game for the second time in as many years.

The Buckeyes suffered a 41-14 blowout at the hands of Florida in
last year's title game, a stunning upset which caused many to
doubt the overall quality of the Big Ten Conference.

Ohio State did little to redeem the Big Ten on Monday,
squandering a 10-0 first-quarter lead and committing seven
penalties for a total of 83 yards.

"That was a tough football game and it was very demanding," Ohio
State coach Jim Tressel said. "I'm sure there were moments
where we weren't perfectly on cue as we should be

"I'm sure there were moments that LSU felt like they lost their
equilibrium, if you will. But I don't think we ever lost our
composure."

After looking rusty in the opening moments, the Tigers
continually chipped away at Ohio State's top-ranked defense,
collecting 326 yards of total offense and converting 11-of-18
third downs.

A first-year starter, Flynn orchestrated the balanced attack,
completing 19-of-27 passes for 173 yards. The fifth-year
senior was intercepted once but also converted a pair of short
third downs on the ground en route to being named the game's
MVP.

"What I'm most proud of about this team is the ability to not
focus on the things that are going on around it, whether it's
good, whether it's bad," Flynn said. "We make a good play, we
come out and we just forget about it. We take it one play at a
time. That's just one thing this team has done all year."

Flynn tossed two TDs in the second quarter and another in the
third as the Tigers scored 31 consecutive points to take a
commanding 31-10 lead.

After clawing to within 31-17, Ohio State advanced to midfield
twice in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers sealed the victory
with a sack on fourth down and a third-down interception by
safety Curtis Taylor with 5:43 remaining.

The turning point of the game took place four minutes into the
second quarter with the score tied at 10-10.

After watching LSU score 10 straight points to pull even, Ohio
State looked primed to reclaim the lead as Ryan Pretorius lined
up for a 38-yard field goal.

But the kick was blocked by Ricky Jean-Francois and recovered by
Darry Beckwith at the LSU 34-yard line, completely swinging
momentum in favor of the Tigers.

"When I started to move, I was saying, Please just let me block
this ball," Jean-Francois said. "And when I blocked it, I was
just shocked. That changed the whole momentum."

Ten plays later, Flynn lobbed a perfectly thrown 10-yarder to
Brandon LaFell in the back left corner of the end zone, giving
LSU its first lead of the game at 17-10 with 7:25 left in the
first half.

"As soon as I saw the cornerback outside jump the short route to
the outside guy, Brandon was one-on-one," Flynn said. "I know
95 percent of the time, he's going to win that matchup."

While the Tigers consistently gave Flynn time in the pocket, the
Buckeyes failed to protect quarterback Todd Boeckman, who was
harassed and hurried throughout the game's final three quarters.

With LSU backup safety Harry Coleman blitzing up the middle,
Boeckman severely underthrew his target and was intercepted by
cornerback Chevis Jackson, who reeled off a 34-yard return to
the Ohio State 24.

Jacob Hester bulled into the end zone from a yard out five plays
later, pushing LSU's lead to 24-10.

The Tigers added insurance on the opening drive of the second
half when Flynn found Early Doucet, who avoided a trio of
tacklers before dancing into the end zone for a 4-yard TD to
make it 31-10.

The Buckeyes battled back late in the third quarter, however, as
cornerback Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Flynn and raced for a
23-yard return to the LSU 11.

Ohio State took advantage four plays later, when Brian Robiskie
made a diving 5-yard TD catch to draw Ohio State within 31-17
with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter.

After forcing the Tigers to punt, the Buckeyes drove to the LSU
34 with 11:30 remaining.

But linebacker Ali Highsmith sacked Boeckman on 4th-and-7,
forcing a fumble which was recovered by Coleman at midfield.

Ohio State forced another punt on the ensuing possession, but
Taylor intercepted Boeckman at the LSU 43 to thwart another
last-ditch comeback attempt by the Buckeyes.

Flynn threw his fourth TD of the game nine plays later, lofting
a 5-yarder to a wide-open Richard Dickson to make it 38-17 with
two minutes remaining.

It was the second score of the game for Dickson, a sophomore
tight end who drew LSU even with his 13-yard TD catch early in
the second quarter.

Doucet was Flynn's favorite target, hauling in seven receptions
for 51 yards. Hester rushed for 86 yards on 21 carries, paving
the way for an LSU ground game which manhandled the No. 1
rushing defense in the country.

Boeckman finished 15-for-26 for 208 yards, two TDs and two
interceptions. Chris "Beanie" Wells was one of the few bright
spots for the Buckeyes, rushing for 146 yards on 20 carries.

A sophomore, Wells gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead just 86 seconds
into the contest, bursting through a seam in the Tigers' line
and racing up the right sideline for a 65-yard TD.

It was the longest run in BCS Championship Game history and the
longest of Wells' career.

0roots

mark i'd hate to be responsible for recruting players to a big10 school anytime soon. it's been a bad 12 months for that whole conference...

MaxOmuS This should be a good one, interesting to see to what OSU comes up with to keep from getting embarrassed again this year... I still think there overrated... hopefully LSU will man handle them...